Ludhiana, August 27
Three persons were shot at and five suffered sword injures in a clash between a dairy owner and his supporters, and residents of a locality on the Tajpur road here today. The police had to carry out mild cane charge, which left several persons injured.

According to information, a dispute over unloading a vehicle in the middle of a road by a dairy owner led to the clash. The injured, who have suffered bullet wounds, have been identified as Mintu and Mukesh. Sunil Kumar, alias Sundri, who fired shots during the clash, also suffered a bullet wound on his hand and abdomen. Sunil’s brother Deepu and their father Ramesh suffered multiple injuries. Besides, three persons suffered sword injuries. One of the injured has been identified as Mangesh. The injured have been admitted to the Civil Hospital.

The firing incident triggered violent protests. After blocking the National Highway -I for half an hour, the protesters disrupted traffic on the Tajpur road. Some of the protesters vandalised the house of the dairy owner, Ramesh Kumar.

The protest led to a massive traffic jam on the NH-I. Some of the protesters, including migrant children, vandalised auto-rickshaws.

Situation remained tense as the protesters demanded action against the persons who opened fire.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP- IV) Satvir Singh Atwal sid the situation was under control and a case would be registered once the injured were fit enough to record their statements. Investigation into the case is on, says the ADCP.

Giving details about the clash, Atwal said in the evening, Ramesh, who owns a dairy, along with his son, came to the house and started removing milk containers from their SUV. In the meantime, youngsters, riding a bike, reached the spot and started honking horns. Ramesh told them to wait for sometime as he was unloading milk containers.

This led to a heated argument between them and soon they came to blows. In the meantime, someone told Sunil that his father was beaten to death.

He rushed to the spot and saw his father lying on the road and brother being thrashed. Sunil pulled out his licensed revolver and opened fire. While Mintu suffered a bullet injury on the hand, Mukesh was shot on the leg. Sunil, who also suffered splinter wounds on his hand and abdomen, claimed that he had opened fire in retaliation after being shot at.

On the other hand, Mukesh and Mintu claimed that when they requested Ramesh to clear the road, the latter started abusing them and slapped them.

It was free for all following the firing incident. Migrants accused the police of siding with the dairy owner. However, the police managed to pacify the migrants and brought the situation under control.

The area residents also stood by the dairy owner, Ramesh Kumar. They said shanties in the Tajpur road area had become the dens of anti-social elements.

Ludhiana, August 27
A day after The Tribune highlighted the plight of a 13-year-old girl, who was allegedly kidnapped four years ago from Amritsar and was made to work at a factory to repay the amount spent on her failed marriage, the administration today swung into action and started efforts to reunite the girl with her parents.

Taking cognisance of the news report, Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said: “I have spoken to (ACP- North) Kuldeep Singh and told him to initiate appropriate legal action in the matter as kidnapping and child marriage is an offence. Further, the police official has been told to coordinate with the Amritsar police to trace the girl’s parents. I have directed the Social Security Department to initiate process regarding the girl’s custody. She would be handed to her parents, if they are traced, or else she would be sent to the Nariniketan in Jalandhar.”

Sukhdhir Singh Sekhon, president of the Nav Chetna Bal Bhalai Committee, an NGO working against child labour, said: “We met ACP Kuldeep Singh and narrated the entire story of the girl. Later, the Child Protection Officer spoke to us. Things are moving into right direction. We hope the girl will be reunited with her parents.” However, no action has been taken against the erring police officer who, instead of rescuing the girl and sending her to a Narinekatan, had told her foster father Jaspal to look after the girl till the time they traced her parents. Jaspal, a tubewell operator, had been taking care of the child since the kidnappers dumped her in Ludhiana. In July, Jaspal married her off and took her to her husband’s place at Gorakhpur. They reportedly returned from Gorakhpur after the groom, identified as Shiv Kumar, who resides in the Jassian area and works as a construction worker, forced her to some bitter drink.

The girl faintly remembers her mother’s name. She said her mother’s name was Geeta and she used to live in a locality near Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Ludhiana, August 27
Cases of dengue continue to be reported at the city hospitals from Ludhiana as well as other districts. Today, two more cases of dengue were confirmed from New Kailash Nagar here. The patients have been admitted to the Dayanand Medical College and Hospital.

With these fresh cases, a total of 12 patients have been diagnosed with dengue in the local hospitals, of them 7 are from Ludhiana district. The other five patients are from Amritsar, Bathinda, Jalandhar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (Nawanshahr). This was disclosed by Dr Anil Verma, District Epidemiologist, Ludhiana.

Meanwhile, Health teams found larvae of aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue, in four desert coolers in the Shimla Puri area. Earlier, the Health Department teams found larvae at the Shimla Puri, Maid Colony Shimla Puri and Dhuri Line areas.

Dr Vipul Malhotra, Health Officer of the MC, said: “We have challaned around 25 defaulters so far. A list of new defaulters is with me. They, too, will be challaned soon. Each defaulter is chalaned Rs 500.”

Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Subhash Batta, said: “We have established a Control Room with phone number 0161-2444193. Anybody, who comes across dengue patients, can contact at the number.”

Dos and Don’ts

* Dengue spreads through mosquito bite.

* Aedes aegypti mosquito, which spreads dengue, bites during daytime.

* Mosquitoes breed in fresh water accumulated in flower pots, desert coolers, water tanks, etc.

* Clean and dry desert coolers once a week.

* Keep rooftops clear of containers/tyres.

* Wear full-sleeve shirts and cover your feet in morning and evening.

* Spray insecticides under tables and behind curtains.

* Don’t allow water to accumulate near houses.

* Use anti-mosquito nets

* Properly cover container and water tanks

* Report suspected cases of dengue to the nearest government dispensary/hospital

Fogging schedule

Aug 28: Ward No. 20, 1, 37, 14, 40, 10, 11, 67, 69, 64, 65, 27, 51, 53 and 57

Aug 29: Ward No. 22, 2, 38, 15, 41, 12, 5, 70, 71, 72, 64, 28, 52, 56 and 60

Aug 30: Ward No. 23, 3, 39, 16, 42, 6, Tajpur Dump 65, 75, 74, 66, Boaster Jail 29, 55, 59 and 48

Aug 31: Ward No. 73, 69, 61, 63 Officer Route, high risk areas, all mohallas.

Ludhiana, August 27
Bhawna, a BA-II student at the Government College for Girls thrashed a youth, who allegedly stalked her and accosted her outside the college. The youth was also thrashed by passersby.

Bhawna said that the incident took place yesterday while she was leaving the college. “I was returning home after attending the Teej festival at our college. I was barely a few metres away from the college when a youth approached me. He introduced himself as Gurpreet. He asked my name and offered a ride on his bike,” said Bhawna.

Bhawna told him that she was least interested in talking to him and moved ahead.

“The youth again accosted me. I lost my cool and told the youth either he cleared the way immediately or else I will thrash him. The youth dared me, saying that his father is a policeman and I can do nothing. I slapped him on the face. Soon, commuters reached the spot and thrashed the youth black and blue,” said Bhawna.

Ludhiana, August 27
Students who have passed Class X examinations in Punjabi medium are having a tough time at the English medium Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students.

Considering the major hurdle in the way of students, the school management has adopted various techniques to improve the English of students.

The principal of Senior Secondary Residential School for Meritorious Students, Anoop Passi, said teachers are taking extra classes to improve the language skills of students.

“We were aware about the problem even before the admission of students and we were already prepared as to how to address the issue. There are only a few students who used to study in English medium till Class X. Most of the students are from Punjabi medium schools. Motivation sessions were conduced to make them comfortable with the language. After a few weeks, extra classes were also started to improve vocabulary, grammar and speaking skills of students. Most of the students are hard working and we are hopeful that they will learn the language soon,” said the principal.

“When the students have opted for streams such as science and commerce, it is not possible for them to continue their further studies in Punjabi as the books are not available in that language. Moreover, we are preparing them for competitive examinations and English is must to prepare them for these tests,” he added.

“I am from rural area and I used to study in Punjabi medium. I was good in English but it is quite tough to read all the books in English. But with regular extra classes, I have improved a lot,” said a student.

Teachers a harried lot

Meanwhile, teachers are having a tough time dealing with students. Apparently, a number of students have obtained good score in Class X examinations using unfair means. The practice of cheating in the PSEB examinations is widely spread in the state. And in absence of any entrance tests, students have got admission in the meritorious school, the easy way. “Such students can be easily identified in classrooms. The government must initiate steps to curb the ill practice. Or they must hold entrance tests for admission This will ensure fair admissions,” said a teacher.

Ludhiana, August 27
The family of 60-year-old Arun Kumar, a businessman, who is battling for life after being hit by a bus of a hosiery unit in Dugri on May 30, was in for another shock when they found their home located in the posh Model Town locality ransacked.

Arun Kumar, who is in a coma, is looked after by his wife and son. Today, the family, who are already burdened with huge medical expenses incurred on his treatment, got the another shock of their life.

Sahil Duggal, his son, said thieves might have struck at midnight as he, along with his mother, was at the hospital. He said the thieves entered the house by breaking the door on the rooftop. He said the thieves took away gold and silver ornaments, cash, home appliances and other costly valuables lying in the house. They stole even the cooking gas cylinder, said Sahil.

He said they had suffered a loss of about Rs 10 lakh in the theft. Suman, wife of Arun Kumar, said due to the accident, the family was already undergoing an agonising time and the theft had come as a double blow.

Jaswider Singh, son-in-law of Arun, said the family had been running from pillar to post to seek justice in the hit-and-run case. Now, the theft has added to their misery. The theft speaks volumes of the security scenario in the city, he added.

No fingerprints taken from crime scene

The visit of a large number of police officials to Arun Kumar’s house located near Matta Palace in Model Town turned out to be just a formality. The police merely completed the formality of recording the statement of the family. A relative of Arun Kumar complained no fingerprint team visited the house to lift the fingerprints of the thieves.

Ludhiana, August 27
The Inclusive Education Volunteers organised a protest rally here today. The office-bearers of the Inclusive Education Volunteer Association alleged that the state government is not concerned about their demands.

The Inclusive Education Volunteers have been deputed by the state government under the centre-sponsored scheme to teach special students, who are otherwise unable to attend classes at schools. The volunteers, deputed on menial salaries, complained that the government has not hiked their salaries for past several years. The president of the Inclusive Education Volunteers’ Association, Gurvinder Singh Buddhewal, said they are demanding grade pay, under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). The association has announced a state-level rally to protest against the state government.

Ludhiana, August 27
Non-teaching staff of DRV DAV College Centenary, Phillaur, organised a full day stay-in-strike and staged dharna in front of the office of the principal, under the aegis of DAV College Co-ordination Committee, Punjab, against their long pending demands.

The main demands include release of arrears of the revised pay scale from January 1, 2006, to July 31, 2010, to the uncovered staff and implementation of revised pay scale w.e.f. December 1, 2011. They have also demanded that the dependents/wards of the employees of college who die while in service should be appointed in colleges on compassionate grounds with proper pay scales. Due representation should be given to the non-teaching employees on various bodies of the college like LAC/committee and the benefit of leave encashment should be given to the non-teaching employees, working under GNDU, Amritsar.

The local unit president, Veekesh Kumar, DAV Coordination Committee member, Punjab, Krishan Dev, Mahinder Pal and Sunil Kumar participated in the strike.

The employees also submitted their memorandum of demands to SK Mahajan, college principal. The strike is expected to continue tomorrow as well.

Pending demands

A full day stay-in-strike and dharna was staged by the non-teaching staff of DRV DAV College Centenary, Phillaur. The employees have submitted a memorandum to the college principal, SK Mahajan, in this regard. The strike is expected to continue today as well.

Ludhiana, August 27
An advertisement issued by the District Education Officer (Primary) for the recruitment of teaching, office and Class IV staff at residential hostel on Chandigarh Road led to resentment among people concerned with the Education Department.

As per the advertisement, the District Education Officer-cum-District Project Director Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, demanded applications for the post of accountant with qualification of Bcom against the total pay of Rs 4,000 while, Class V pass cook will be paid Rs 6,000.

Moreover, part-time MA BEd tutor will be paid Rs 3,000 but helper of the cook will be paid Rs 4,500.

The office of District Education Officer (Primary) had advertised the recruitment notice in vernacular newspapers last Sunday.

The District Education office has been running residential hostel on Chandigarh Road under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The students who are rendered homeless, orphan or are helpless to join school are provided with shelter here.

District Education Officer (Primary) Gurjot Singh, said, “We have advertised the posts as per the pay scale fixed by Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. The pay disparity among the posts is as per the nature of task.”

“These government policies are meant to discourage educated people. The culture of working hard is decreasing among youth due to such policies,” said a teacher.

Disparity in salary

An accountant, holding a BCom degree, will be paid ~4,000 while, a Class V pass cook will be paid ~6,000. A part-time MA BEd tutor will be paid ~3,000 but a helper of the cook will be paid ~4,500.

Jagraon, August 27
Contrary to the claims of the state government and Punjab State Power Corporation Limited to provide uninterrupted power supply to all sections of electricity consumers during the summer season, residents of Jagraon and surrounding areas continue to grapple with scheduled and unscheduled power cuts.

After providing some relief, the power cuts have returned to haunt the local residents as these have been taking a toll on them.

Regular power cuts have also exposed the tall claims of the government, which had been claiming of making Punjab ‘a power surplus state’ since a long time.

In Jagraon town, power cuts varying from four to five hours are being imposed everyday.

“We are witnessing power cuts between four and five hours everyday and have to face a tough time due to the same in this hot and humid weather. We are not even informed about the power cuts,” said Satnam Singh, a local resident.

Similar is the situation in rural areas where power cuts are being imposed for over six hours daily. Not only consumers of the domestic sector are facing the issue but farmers and industrialists are also hit.

The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited authorities said the power cuts in domestic sector were being imposed to provide maximum power supply to the farming community. But, farmers rue that they were not getting enough power supply as promised by the state government before the start of the paddy season.

“We have been witnessing power cuts between four and five hours everyday. It has become difficult for us to water the paddy crop due to the prolonged cuts,” said Gurdial Singh, a farmer of Kothe Baggu village, near Jagraon.

Gurpreet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, XEN, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited, said the power cuts were being imposed due to increased gap in the demand and supply of power.

Regular technical snags occurring due to overload have also been affecting the supply, said Sidhu.

He claimed that the department was informing the consumers about imposing of power cuts.

Ludhiana, August 27
Though the district-level Inspire Award Exhibition of the junior wing concluded today, students who participated in the event have not received the money for preparing the models.

Teachers of school concerned said they had spent the money from their pockets to make the models.

The District-Level Inspire Award Exhibition is going on at Malwa Khalsa Senior Secondary School. Students from various schools of the district displayed their science models at the exhibition. As many as 269 students from junior wing (Classes VI to VIII) participated. Officials from the District Education Department awarded the 16 models of the junior wing.

The exhibition of the senior wing will start from tomorrow and will concluded on August 30. The students from Classes IX to XII will exhibit their models which they have prepared with the help of their teachers. The winners of the district-level exhibition will take part in a state-level exhibition. The state-level Inspire Award Exhibition will be held on September 10,11 and 12 in Ropar.

As per information, the Education Department used to send the grant for preparing the models before the competitions in the past years. The department sends the grant directly to the bank accounts of head students of the project.

The officials said they had opened the accounts of students to receive the grant. Banks reportedly closed the accounts due to delay in grant.

Varinder Kaur, district science officer, said they had opened the zero-balance savings bank accounts of 511 students. The students would receive the grant soon.

Mandi Ahmedgarh, August 27
Activists and office-bearers of the Mata Raj Rajeshwari Mandir Management Committee vowed to support organisations undertaking campaigns against social evils, including female foeticide and drug addiction.

The oath was taken on the occasion of the annual fair organised at the shrine at Nathumajra recently. Manohar Kaushal, general secretary, said office-bearers of the association had realised that rural masses were unaware about the consequences of social evils, including female foeticide and illiteracy among women. Kuldeep Sharma, Rameshwar Dass Sharma, Sanjiv Sharma and Raghu Nandan Sharma were among the office-bearers present. — OC

Ludhiana, August 27
To mark its first anniversary, Pancham Multi Super Speciality Hospital here would hold a mega health check-up camp during September and also hold awareness programmes about lifestyle and other diseases. Interacting with patients and their dependents, managing director and chief cardiologist at the hospital RP Singh spoke about lifestyle diseases, which he observed, had acquired alarming proportions.

“Sedentary lifestyle coupled with rich Punjabi food often result in cases of high blood pressure and diabetes, which eventually leads to heart problems in many cases,” Dr Singh said.

He said similarly obesity was becoming rampant. Free and healthy life with balanced diet, moderate and regular exercise as well as timely advice from qualified doctors were must to control the disease. According to Dr Singh, during the anniversary month, the hospital would extend various concessions so that maximum number of patients could avail latest diagnostic techniques, cheaper clinical tests and comprehensive medical care. The concession would range from 20 to 50 per cent on consultations, tests, admission and various procedures, including angiography and joint replacement.

The hospital had ultra modern equipment along with specialists and super specialists in the departments of cardiology, heart surgery, general and laparoscopic surgery, orthopaedics and joint replacement, weight loss surgery, prostate and kidney stone surgery, spine and brain surgery and gynaecology, said Dr Singh

Ludhiana, August 27
Ludhiana unit of the Bharat Jan Gyan Vigyan Jattha planted 500 saplings during the fortnight. Office-bearers of the NGO also made people aware about the benefits of plantation drive.

They said Ludhiana tops the list of most polluted cities. Hence, there was a need to keep it clean and green. The NGO planted saplings at government high schools in Salem Tabri, Sarabha Nagar, Aman Park, Lal Bagh, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, G Block, Model Town, Mandeep Nagar, Chand Colony, Alamgir, Kitchlu Nagar, etc.

The gathering during the plantation drives were addressed by the office-bearers of the NGO. Major Sher Singh Aulakh (retd), president; Dr Arun Mitra, general secretary; and MS Bhatia, Gurcharaan Kaur Kochhar, Kusam Lata, Dr Rajinder Pal Singh Aulakh, Ranjeet Singh and Randhir Singh Dhira were among the office-bearers present.

Ludhiana, August 27
City-based educationists have termed scholarship schemes for underprivileged students a failure. "Although the schemes are initiated with much fanfare, these fail to benefit the target group in the absence of the same zeal when it comes to implementation," said a retired teacher.

Schemes such as post-matric scholarship, a Central scheme implemented through the state government, have failed to benefit students as there is a gap between the purported objectives of the scheme and its implementation, said a government schoolteacher.

"It's imperative to create awareness about these schemes. The educational institutes need to be sensitised about their proper implementation," he said.

Mewa Singh Gujjarwal, president, Shiromani Dalit Dal, said many underprivileged students from rural areas fail to derive the benefit from these schemes as they do not have access to correct information.

"I have seen students spending money from their pocket to submit scholarship forms online," he said.

He said a special Act must be passed in Vidhan Sabha for the welfare of underprivileged students.

"Besides, a state-level helpline should be started wherein the students can air their grievances," he said.

Gujjarwal urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to take action against the educational institutions that refuse admissions to scholarship holders.

Ludhiana, August 27
With the advent of information technology and communication, Ludhianvis are fast losing touch with handwritten notes. Keying in characters or just swiping across the touchscreen, people are able to communicate, making handwriting a thing of the past.

More and more residents, especially working professionals, admit that they feel ill at ease when it comes to writing with a pen.

“I hardly use a pen anymore. Now, we can get away without being frowned upon if we have a bad handwriting, as most of the work is done using keyboards,” says one such working professional.

Ishant, a student, says his handwriting is not good and his teachers often point this out to him. He, however, like many other students his age, is not worried about this.

“I think, in the future, the only time I will be using a pen will be for signing any document. For everything else, in this high-tech world, typing and speech recognition is enough,” he says.

Ruchi, a resident, says: “The other day, I was reading that children in China are forgetting how to write. I think with technology overpowering every sphere of life, writing by hand will soon be seen as an art form.”

Ruchi says she is not only improving her handwriting but also learning the art of calligraphy. In fact, some residents have started sending their children to handwriting improvement classes.

The annual group meet of the All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Forage Crops (FC) concluded at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Wednesday. As many as 75 scientists from 21 state agricultural universities and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institutes participated in the meet. PAU and the Crop Improvement Society of India jointly organised the meet under the aegis of ICAR, New Delhi. 

Chairing the concluding session, Dr SS Gosal, Director of Research, PAU, said in view of seeds being imported, there was a need to enhance the seed production system. The demand for lucerne seed was escalating among farmers, he said while calling upon experts to opt for lucerne seed production and its breeding programme. Dr Gosal also stressed on maintaining soil health and minimising the use of agro-chemicals while growing fodder crops. “Stress should be laid on germplasm collection, maintenance, production, characterisation and its utilisation,” he said. Dr Gosal underlined the need for maintaining data of good fodder varieties for silage making. He said it was vital for the farmers to maintain close contact with scientists for upgrade of knowledge on various agri-aspects. 

Dr JP Yadvendra, who was the guest of honour, stressed on minimising the use of pesticides while cultivating forage crops. Dr AK Roy, project coordinator, AICRP (Forage Crops), said with the growing demand for silage, training programmes for the farmers on it should be organised. Farmers should also hold discussions with the experts of forage section for the development of new varieties, he suggested. 

Dr US Tiwana, in charge, forage section, PAU, and organising secretary of the programme, said technical sessions on centre-wise activities, “fodder technology demonstration and tribal sub-plan formulation,” “plant genetic resources and breeding issues” were held on Wednesday. Besides, a scientist-farmer interface was also organised. The sessions were chaired by Dr JP Yadvendra, Dr AK Roy, project coordinator, AICRP (Forage Crops), and Dr SS Faroqui, former director, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi, he said. Later, he proposed the vote of thanks. — TNS

Ban orders issued

All shops and vends selling meat and eggs as well as slaughter houses in the area falling under the Police Commissionerate will remain closed on August 30 on the occasion of Jain festival ‘Samvastari Maha Parv’. Restaurants, dhabas and other eateries will not serve eggs and non-vegetarian food items. These orders were issued by the Police Commissioner under Section 144 of the CrPC.

Seminar on drug-free society

Guru Gobind Singh Study Circle organised a seminar on the ‘Creation of drug-free society’. Over 100 representatives from various educational institutions took part in the seminar where the participants vowed that students, teachers and heads of educational institutions would play an effective role to achieve this objective. Paramjit Kaur, district education officer, who was the chief guest, said efforts at psychological and administrative levels were must to save the youth from the drug menace. A workshop on student-teacher relationship was also organised.

Forest staff hold protest

The Van Mandal of Ludhiana Forest Employees Union protested on Wednesday. The work remained suspended at the district forest office leading to inconvenience for visitors. Almost 50 employees from forest office of Ludhiana district are on a protest against their superintendent Jagroop Singh. Mohan Singh, president of the union, said they were fed up with the misbehaviour by the superintendent with the employees. Earlier, the matter was brought to the notice of the district forest officer and even the forest minister who visited the city recently, but no action was taken in this regard. Now, employees were going to raise their voice against the superintendent who hurls abuses on us regularly.” Range officers also joined the protest and no work was done till evening at the forest office on Wednesday. The employees said the protest was indefinite and would continue till they get a solution to the problem. “From Monday, the protest will be aggravated. Roads will be blocked if the authorities fail to listen to us,” said the union president.

Book released

Ethical hacker Trishneet Arora’s book ‘Hacking Talk with Trishneet Arora’ was released on Wedneday. Arora said the book would benefit IT students and the police who could use the suggestions given in it to trace cyber crime-related cases. — TNS

Khanna, August 27
Two motorcycle-borne miscreants snatched a bag containing Rs 2 lakh near the Railway Road chowk and fled the spot.

As per information, Swarn Singh, a resident of Rajewal village, along with another person, Prince, had come to Khanna and withdrew Rs 2 lakh from a branch of the OBC Bank. After withdrawing the cash, they came to a shop near the Railway Road chowk.

After about an hour, they came came out of the shop and found the wheel of their motorcycle deflated. When they were searching for a puncture repair shop, two persons with covered faces and helmets approached them and snatched their bag and fled the spot. However, some passers-by tried to stop them and followed them. But the miscreants managed to escape.

After getting information, the Khanna SSP, along with other officials, visited the spot.

The SSP, Khanna, Harsh Kumar Bansal, said they had got some clue in the case and were trying to identify the suspects. He said the investigation was on and they were hopeful of early breakthrough.

COURTS

HC pulls up civic body
Asks it to act against pvt hospitals not having parking space
Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, August 27
The Municipal Corporation has been caught on the wrong foot for its soft approach towards various private nursing homes and hospitals across the city that have not made arrangement for parking of vehicles.

Such medical facilities either do not have dedicated parking space or have put the parking space marked in their building plans to other use, while patients and visitors are forced to park their vehicles on roads.

After the MC failed to carry out the directions issued twice by the Chief Vigilance Officer, Local Government Department, Punjab, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, while disposing of a civil writ petition (number 17,313 of 2014) has asked the civic body to take action as per law against all hospitals that are violating the parking norms.

Delivering the orders on the public interest litigation filed by Rohit Sabharwal against the State of Punjab and others, the bench of Justice Ashutosh Mohunta, Acting Chief Justice, and Justice Harinder Singh Sidhu took note of the contention of the petitioner that parking spaces in most hospitals and nursing homes were, in fact, being blatantly misused to run laboratories, pharmacies, intensive care units or for other commercial purposes.

The judges mentioned that the Directorate, Local Government, Punjab, had already asked the MC Commissioner (vide order dated July 26, 2014) to look into the matter seriously and take action as per rules against the hospitals that are committing the violations.

In his complaint to the Local Government Department, Sabharwal had submitted a list of 42 private nursing homes and hospitals where parking spaces were not being used for the intended purpose in violation of statutory provisions of building bylaws.

As the MC had failed to act against the erring hospitals except for issuing show-cause notices to them, the complainant had filed a PIL in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking directions to the MC in this regard.

An MC official said show-cause notices were already issued to all defaulting hospitals and nursing homes for violation of building bylaws and they were directed to make arrangements for dedicated parking space and stop misuse, if any, of parking spaces.

“Further follow-up action will be taken as per rules to comply with the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court,” the official said.

Ludhiana, August 27
Mata Sahib Kaur Hockey Academy being run at Jarkhar village on the Ludhiana-Malerkotla road has received Hockey India’s affiliation.

According to a communication received from the apex body of hockey, in recognition of the contribution made by the academy in the development of the game, it has been inducted as the body’s seventh academy member.

Academy director Jagroop Singh Jarkhar said its delegation had apprised Hockey India general secretary Narinder Batra of achievements of its trainees at national-level tournaments in the past seven years.

Jagroop said the delegation also highlighted various activities of the academy since its inception in 1986, including the hosting of the annual Jarkhar Sports Festival and Olympian Prithipal Singh Hockey Tournament besides organisation of regular camps for identifying young talent.

“The academy has its own stadium with a seven-a-side Astroturf along with a 22-room hostel for players. With its induction, the academy will certainly attract more talented players,” said Jagroop Singh.

Hockey India has 25 permanent members, 23 associate members, two members through state Olympic associations besides seven academy members and one hockey member.

Ludhiana, August 27
Over 1,200 boys and girls are taking part in the District Rural Games that started at Guru Nanak Stadium and Punjab Agricultural University here today. The under-16 players are participating in 10 events: athletics, basketball, football, hockey, handball, kabaddi, kho-kho, weightlifting, wrestling and volleyball.

District Sports Officer Kartar Singh Sehmbey said the players’ performance during these games would be taken into consideration while selecting the district rural squads for the Punjab State Rural Games to be held next month.

The games are being organised under the Union Ministry of Sports’s scheme Rajiv Gandhi Khel Abhiyan.

Results on Day 1

Hockey (boys): Dehlon beat Sudhar 4-1 and Pakhowal beat Doraha 5-4.

Hockey (girls): Raikot beat Sudhar 4-0 and Pakhowal beat Ludhiana 2-0.

Kabaddi (boys): Ludhiana beat Sudhar, Khanna beat Dehlon, Samrala beat Doraha and Raikot beat Sidhwan Bet.

Kabaddi (girls): Raikot beat Sidhwan Bet and Machhiwara beat Sudhar.

Handball (boys): Samrala beat Dhakha.

Handball (girls): Dhakha beat Samrala.

Volleyball (boys): Jagraon beat Ludhiana-I and Ludhiana-II beat Machhiwarha.

Volleyball (girls): Jagraon beat Ludhiana-I and Sudhar beat Ludhiana-II.